Vent clamp for use when cleaning coats



1959 N. c. JACKSON ETAL 2,872,718

VENT CLAMP FOR USE! WHEN CLEANING COATS Filed Nov. 25, 1955 TI- INVENTORS. /|/0/an 6. dacksafi E BY amw Lfic/zmedex' United States Patent VENT "CLAMP FOR USE WHEN CLEANING COATS Nolan C. Jackson and Christie L. Schroeder, Wichita, Kane, assignors to Wichita Precision Tool Company, lnc., Wichita, Kans., a corporation of Kansas Application November 25, 1955, Serial No. 549,109

4 Claims. (Cl. 24252) This invention relates to improvements in equipment for use in the garment cleaning industry, the primary object being to provide a clamp for facilitating proper finishing of coats and the like of the kind having a slit in the back or tail thereof which must be held closed while the garment is being finished.

It is the most important object of the present invention to provide a relatively simple, lightweight, inexpensive and easily manipulated hand tool in the nature of a clamp that maybe quickly and easily place in closing relationship to the aforesaid slit and which, when clamped in place, will hold the flaps of the garment against spreading at the said slit.

Another important object of the instant invention is to provide a clamp of the aforementioned character that is provided with a pliable pad as a part of one of the jaws thereof for closing the slit when the clamp is in an operative position maintaining the flaps against spreading apart.

Other objects include the way in which the clamp is provided with resilient means for yieldably holding the two jaws thereof biased together; the way in which one of the jaws is pivotally mounted on spring means interposed between the one jaw and a handle serving not only to mount the jaw, but hold the same in place; and the way in which stop means is provided to limit the extent of movement of one end of one of the jaws away from the other jaw.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a vent clamp for use when cleaning coats made pursuant to the instant invention and showing the same operably mounted on the coat when the same is being finished by a garment finishing machine.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the clamp per se.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, cross-sectional view taken line III-III of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a transverse, cross-sectional view taken line IV-lV of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse, cross-sectional view taken line V-V of Fig. 3.

The vent clamp, illustrated in the drawing consists essentially of a pair of jaws and 12 adapted for relative movement toward and away from each other, a handle 14 and resilient means in the nature of a substantially S-shaped leaf spring 16 interposed between the handle 14 and the jaw 12 to yieldably hold the latter biased toward the jaw 10.

The jaw 12 includes a relatively shallow pan-shaped body 18 extending at one end thereof in an L-shaped projection 20 having a relatively short, laterally-extending leg 22. The body 18 contains an elongated, rectangular pad 24 of relatively soft, pliable material such as sponge rubber.

The jaw 10 comprises an elongated, rectangular strip having the longitudinal edges 26 thereof curled to mount the handle 14 upon the jaw 10 at one end of the latter. Arcuate handle 14 is provided with sides 28 that are in 2,872,713 Patented F eb. 10, 1959 turn provided with lateral flanges 30 around which the edges 26 of jaw 10 are curled and, therefore, clamped in place in the manner illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing.

The spring 16 is attached directly to the handle 14 between the latter and the jaw 12 by suitable fasteners such as rivets 32, and jaw 12 is pivotally connected to one end of the spring 16 through use of a bracket 34 22 coming into contact therewith. I The clamp is placed in use in the manner illustrated by Fig. 1 of the drawing, showing a garment in the nature of a coat 42 mounted on an inflatable, permeable bag 44 that is conventionally made a part of many types of garment finishing machines.

The clamp forming the subject matter of the instant invention is shown in Fig. I mounted on the garment 42 adjacent a slit 46 within the back or tail of the garment 42, such slit 46 being commonly provided in many types of mens coats for example, presenting a pair of tlaps 48 that should be held against separation at the slit 46 when the bag 44 is inflated with air or steam. Normally, the clamp is extended upwardly a suflicient distance to cause the pad 24 to completely close the slit 46 and by virtue of the fact that the flaps 48 are received between the jaws 10 and 12, separation is prevented and the steam, as well as air, emanating from the bag 44, properly permeates the material from which the coat 42 is made.

It is seen that the clamp is easily operated since it may be held in one hand, grasping the handle 14 as well as the spring 16, and upon imparting a squeezing action which will move the spring 16 toward the handle 14, the jaw 12 will be swung away from the jaw 10. While a maximum distance between the jaws 10 and 12 at the outermost ends thereof may be presented for receiving the flaps 48, the opposite end of the jaws 10 and 12 are prevented from undue separation by stops 40.

In this respect, therefore, when the spring 16 is squeezed toward the handle 14 and the projection 20 brought into engagement with the stops 40, the jaw 12 will swing about the stops 40 substantially at the point of joinder of leg 22 with the projection 20. Stops 40 therefore, serve as fulcrums or pintles about which the jaw 12 swings during manual manipulation to place the clamp on the garment 42 and remove the same after the finishing operation has been completed.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. For use in the finishing of garments, a portable hand clamp comprising a pair of elongated, normally upright jaws; a handle having a lowermost portion rigidly secured to one face of one of said jaws at the lowermost end of the latter and extending laterally therefrom, terminating in an integral upright portion spaced from the other of said jaws; a spring interposed between said upright portion of the handle and said other jaw for yield ably biasing the latter toward said one jaw; means rigidly attaching the spring to said upright portion of the handle; and means remote from said lowermost portion of the handle pivotally attaching said other jaw to the spring for support thereby and vertical swinging movement relative to the spring transversely of the longitudinal axis of said other jaw in a direction to present a V-shaped, upwardly-facing, garment-receiving month between the jaws at the uppermost ends of the latter when the-spring is bent toward saidttpri'ght'portion of the handle, said spring having "an upwardly-facing -loop "provided 'with a pair of: legs and a bight, onezof the legs having said rigid attachment to the handle, the other of said legs having said pivotal-attaehmenttosaidotherjaw, whereby- Said orher -leg and*saidupright-portion-ofthe hand-lema'y be hand-squeezed to bend the spring 'at said bi'ght.

lfl'T'he'port-ahle hantV-blamp'asset forthinelaim 1 wherein, said lowermost portion of -tl1e handle is "provided'W-it-h -stop'-'means withinthe pa'th'of travel of-the lowermosvend of saidotherjaW-When thespring'is 5 bent for limiting-the extent of n'pward movementof said 'other jaw and the extent'ofmovement of said lowermost end" of the other jaw towardsaid upright-portionof the handle.

'-3.'-"Ihe*p0rtable'-handblamp as set forth'in 'elaim 2 wherein, said other jaw is provided -with a projebtion depending therefrom and provided with a lateral cit-tension' beneath the stop "means whereby the latter fserves as'affilcrum aboutwvhieh-"the other jaw"swings"when the projection engages the stop=means at its -zone"of.'connec-" tion *with said-extension thereof.

4.'The portable hand clamp as set forth in claim 3 wherein;said"springis"provided"wi'rh"annpwardly=facing loop provided with a pair of legs and a bight, one of the legs having said rigid attachment to the handle, the other of said legs having said pivotal attachment to said other jaw, whereby said other leg and said upright portion of the handle may be handrsqueezed to bend the spring at said bight. 

